4 independent reviews for Sri Lanka family vacation

Reviews for Sri Lanka family vacation

Brian King review 16 Jan 2018

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?

For my wife rekindling her childhood memories. For us both the beautiful landscapes in the Hill Country and from Sigiriya.

2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?

Avoid the Christmas and New Year vacations. Not only are there lots of tourists but many of the locals take time off as well. Crowds everywhere making it unpleasant at some of the attractions.
Avoid Welligama if you like to swim in the sea. The sea is packed with trainee surfers, and it is dangerous to try and swim with trainee surfers not in control of their boards!

3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Not enough. We did one 'unofficial' trip laid on by one hotel which showed some of the village industries - weaving, brick making, coir factory, pineapple plantation - but a lot more could be made of this. We also went to an elephant poo / paper factory, and batik printing - but these were almost afterthoughts. The silk shop, the wood carving 'factory', the gem 'museum' were nothing more than shops that were trying to get us to part with money!

4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?

Sri Lanka is beautiful, the people very friendly, the sights, the scenery, the beaches excellent. The food was a bit disappointing as most of the hotels seem to dumb things down for the tourists. But overall a very enjoyable 3 weeks.

Katy Lee review 21 Jul 2016

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?

White water rafting on Kelani river was great fun. Exciting without being frightening.

2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?

Sigiriya was superb and not to be missed but I would recommend getting there as early as possible to avoid the crowds. Later on, 4ish, I would highly recommend climbing the adjacent rock, Pidurangala, far less touristy with phenomenal views and more of an untamed feel. Decend to the white Budda to enjoy the sun set at about 6pm (July)
Also we went round Polonnaruwa which, for us, was the only mistake. The ruins are impressive but with 2 teenagers, very hot weather and a woeful ignorance of history it didn't go down well.

3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

We stayed at the Elephant freedom project which was absolutely marvelous. You join in as part of the family, clean out the 2 elephants, walk them to the river and and wash them. You could see the elephants loving it. They only allow 6 people in during the day so you have to book in advance.

Colette Carbonell review 17 Oct 2014

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?

2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?

Sri Lanka is amazing, but our tour operator provided a very discounting service.

3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Not sure

4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?

A great place, a wonderful experience for the children but no effort made to get the itinerary right for a family with young children and many opportunities to fit in some amazing places in a fascinating country

Read the operator's response here:

Thank you for taking the time to send us your comments about your vacation. I am very pleased to read that you enjoyed your time meeting people in Sri Lanka and that you felt
that it was a wonderful experience for the children but am very sorry to hear that overall
you found the trip a little disappointing, and that the itinerary was not quite right for a family with young children.
We strive very hard to ensure that our tours are tailored to the ages of the children
traveling. For example, when planning the trip we try to give accurate driving times to
enable parents to make an informed decision about whether the programme is suitable for
their family. Whilst there is of course always scope for the driving times to increase or
decrease according to the most recent road conditions, these estimates should be reasonably accurate. I will speak to our local partners in Sri Lanka to check the times that we advised you and to ensure that we are providing correct information.
I am also sorry to hear that you felt that we offered a discount service. Again we try very hard to match the programmes that we offer to the budget and requirements of individual families, and offer a wide range of accommodation from simple lodges to very luxurious hotels. I know that during the course of this trip there was a remote eco-lodge that, on arrival, you did not feel was suitable for the family and were not happy with the level of cleanliness. As it was quite late in the evening we were not able to make alternative arrangements that night but did arrange to move you the following day. We are discussing this matter with the hotel management and will not use this lodge again until we are satisfied that steps have been taken to address the situation.
It is our intention that our travelers have the vacation of a lifetime and I am very disappointed that this does not seem to have been the case on your trip. I will contact you offline to further discuss your experiences so that we can ensure that we properly address any issues that arose.

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